


This Time Again

by orphan_account



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/F, F/M, High School AU, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, more ships and things added later but those are just the definite ones, wow orginal i know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-17
Updated: 2014-08-17
Packaged: 2018-02-13 14:28:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2154006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Being a kid and growing up. It's hard and nobody understands."<br/>A story featuring a plethora of ships and mixed feelings as the teens blindly stumble through their senior year hoping for the best. Afterall, no matter what, this wont be the end of the world- right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Time Again

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this will be the short prologue to kick off the tone and situation for the story. If a few people take interest I'll continue. I've never really written a fanfiction before, esp not one in second point of view, but I'm exicted to finally put my ideas out there! I'm open to whatever criticism you may give so feel free. And thank you in advance for reading, please enjoy.

 

 You could say it started when the winter set in. The cold has a unique way of creeping into our bones and causing an unmatched yearning. It breaks away the walls of we built in better months and fills us with a craving for a deeper warmth. But in all reality it started much early than that. The unknown catalyst that put these events into their indefinite motion was a simple one, dating back years before our real story- it started with a park.

This was no unusual park. It had several plots of grass hiding underneath a couple of creaky swings and colorful slides. It had questionable amounts of rust in some areas and just enough visitors to not get torn down and made into a shitty shopping center. It held memories good and bad for a community that was just the same.

It was average.

Your name is Karkat Vantas and you first visit this for the first time park the summer before eighth grade.

You find its dull normality soothing, it gives you the consistency you desire but can never achieve elsewhere in life. You walk a mile every Saturday to go sit on the swings and think over you issues for hours- and god and if there’s one thing you have an abundance of its issues. At best you are highly unstable. Not to mention your batshit crazy friends, temper that could challenge entire armies, and daily dosage of ineffective pills.

One particular Saturday a few weeks into summer, you trudge into the park wearing your favorite turtle neck and cargo pants. Like a walking invitation for a heat stroke, you make your way to the back of the park and sit down on the swings.

You survey your surroundings. There are a couple of kids playing on the slides and a distracted mother texting on a nearby bench- nothing notable in your opinion. Not yet at least.

God you hate this moronic park. It’s just some wasteland of false hopes and faded colors. You wonder if you jumped off of the tallest slide if you’d die. Probably just break some bones. Now impaling yourself with the tetherball pole THAT’S the way to go. The ball’s even deflated to represent your hopes in this pointless world. The perfect metaphor. The police would show up and kick you a few times to check if you’re living and eventually make calls to your love ones. They would say it was an accident, something like “people get impaled with park equipment everyday it’s just the circle of life”. Everyone would move on and that’d be it. Yes, tetherball impalation, that is clearly the proper park death.

Your phone alerts you to a message and irrupts your cheery train of thought.

GA: I Think Youre Making A Poor And Rash Decision

 _This again_? You quickly text back and much to your disappointment a conversation ensues.

CG: WHAT ELSE IS NEW?

GA: Have You Considered How This Entire Stunt Might Affect The Rest Of Us?

CG: FUCK OFF.

GA: Fine I Will Respect My Boundaries And Your Decision, But I Still In No Way Support It

CG: I DIDNT ASK YOU TO.

There was a distinct lapse in her response time and you silently hope she had dropped the subject- but you know her much better than that….

GA: You Dont Exactly Make Friends Easily

 …she always wanted the last word.

You roll your eyes and harshly slam your phone shut. Seconds later, it beeps a message again, and your curiosity doesn’t allow you to leave it unread.

 GA: Kk Im Aware You Just Rolled Your Eyes And Slammed Your Phone Shut

….

GA: Please Try To Be Rational Here Even If Its Not Normally Part Of Your Nature

Your fingers twitched over the keys. **_Dont respond dont respond dont respond thats what she wants dont. Fucking. Respond._**

You of course caved in under a minute.

CG: FUCK YOU ITS MY BUSINESS OKAY!!!!???

 GA: Okay But At Least Consider Buying A New Phone Before The Switch

 GA: No One Should Be Legally Allowed To Own A Flip Phone In This Day And Age

  ** _UGGH._**

 GA: And Please Buy A New Wardrobe While Youre At It

 You grip the edges of your phone roughly and glare down the messages, ** _God why did I have to choose such blithering fuck holes as friends???_**

Letting out huff of breath, you shove your phone back into your pocket.  You came to the park to relax not deal with an on slot of bullshit. God that tetherball pole looks an unholy amount of pleasing right now. It’d save a lot of trouble.

You start wonder if all your friends will react badly when they find out. Fuckin probably.

You don’t see why it’s a big deal. A while back you and all your friends made a promise to go the same high school; half of them were even dramatic enough to say that they’d rather die than be separated from each other. You started to reconsider though because a foolish thought that high school should be a fresh start. It should be fresh start away from all your issues; issues that go hand-in-hand with your current choice in pals.

When you told Kanaya you didn’t think you’d uphold the deal, she didn’t approve. She even tried to pull the bullshit of “Karkat Im Very Disappointed And Let Me Mother You And Ask If It’s Because Something Is Wrong Because Karkat That Is Not A Proper Solution It’s Simply Avoiding The Blah Ect Ect…” It only made you want to leave more, and it made you REALLY not want to tell the rest of your dumbass’s- if they don’t already know. Kanaya had promised not to tell them but you can’t be too sure.

You start to think about what they’ll do…

You hope Nepeta doesn’t cry... or punch you… or both.

Gamzee doesn’t fucking care that much he’ll just use it as an excuse to randomly show up at your house more and touch your stuff.

Sollux will be an ass about it for sure.

Most of them can fucking suck it up.

And Terezi…? Oh god.

You are drawn from your thoughts by a person wandering in from across the street. Your lips twitch upwards into a satisfied smile despite yourself.

 ** _Ahh there he is, right on time. That stupid douchebag is always right on time_**.  In fact, it was this very same stupid douchebag that keeps you coming back to the park week after week- not that you’d ever admit it.

The boy aimlessly strolls across the park, a small smile plastered on his face. As you watch him you silently note that this was the second weekend in a row he came by himself, there was not a single disgruntled blonde in sight. He finally sits down on an empty patch of grass a good thirty feet away and you watch him with, as always, a piqued interest.

The boy’s hand goes up and swipes a piece of his messy black hair out of his eyes, before turning his bespectacled gaze upwards towards the clouds above him. He then started to squint and cock his head into odd positions, his face lighting up with joy when he discovered a shape among them. Occasionally he would check his phone and he’d laugh or shake his head disapprovingly at the screen. After a while, you watch him lie backwards, sprawling out on the grass. His hands idly twist and pull at grass below him as his eyes slip shut and the summer sun beat shines down upon him.

He, in a word, looks content. 

You figure that’s why you find him so interesting. The boy seemed to ooze a gentle innocence, one almost novel to someone your age. You thought he looked like the embodiment of peace and once you noticed it, that was it. There was no going back. You were determined to discover the source of it. So you made thoughts of the park and the boy your own little guilty pleasure to escape your life.

Not in a _weird_ way of course. You just find him interesting…. And it’s not like you have anything better to do today. Or like you give a shit about some fucking stranger, thatd be stupid and pathetic.

You often try to imagine what he’s really like. He looks like he is soft spoken, maybe a bit shy? But also caring and reserved and so very keen. You imagine him as everything you’re not. Your perpendicular line that touches every point you don’t, and your brief intersection is this forsaken park. Yes, he’s surely your complete opposite. And you begin to believe that’s why he is so happy.

You are on the edge of the swing watching when the boy gets up and faces you. Your breath catches in your throat and you feel like you should look away.

 ** _Fucking lord. He’s going to see me staring and think I’m a creep._**   

He starts walking closer and you force yourself to look down at your lap.

**_CALM DOWN YOU OBBESISVE SHIT FACE. HES NOT HEADING THIS WAY. NO WAY. HE. IS. NOT._ **

The nameless douchebag is of course heading that way.

"Is that one taken?" he asks softly, his hand pointing towards the adjacent swing.

You shake your head.

“Great thanks!"

He sits down next to you and stares at the park in front of him, idly kicking the woodchips beneath him. He doesn’t say anything and for once you don’t either, simply taking the moment to view him up close. You try not to stare too much and you fail more and more miserably as the silence continues.

You grip the chain on swing hoping the silence doesn’t feel as awkward to him as it does to you. Seconds tick by and you bounce you leg with anticipation. _Say something._ Everything feels itchy. You itch your nose, then your neck, and then your nose again. Shit that’s too much itching now he probably noticed fuck. **_Say something_**. Your suddenly aware off the heat, are you sweating? Does he know your sweating? He probably does. **_SAY SOMETHING._** Oh god this is a disaster and you hate every single second of it.

After a couple of minutes he timidly breaks the silence, “you uh.. you look hot.”

**_HOLY SHIT._ **

You feel your face heat up a bit as you struggle to form a reply.

“I mean, dude it’s not exactly sweater weather” he finishes, looking at you curiously.

**_OH._ **

“I guess I don’t follow orders from some stupid ass numbers on thermostat.” Its two seconds into the conversation and you already want to beat the shit out of him.

“Oh I know what you mean. I had this green sweater I wore constantly last year until it mysteriously disappeared. I had this theory my dad just hid it because he didn’t want me to overheat or something, but every time I asked him he insisted he didn’t take it.”

**_WHY THE FUCK IS HE TELLING ME?_ **

“Of course it’s not like I would have overheated anyway- that was in Washington our summer was like your winter. Sorta. Jeez it’s hot here; I’ve never seen so much sun. But that’s fine I usually don’t spend very much time outside so I guess weather doesn’t matter much to me. After all, the internet’s the same everywhere right?”

**_…I MAY HAVE SEVERELY MISREAD THIS KID._ **

He stops rambling and you sit there speechless, wondering just how wrong you were.

“I’m John by the way.” He smiles wider, showing off his excessive front teeth with oddly don’t detract from his smile. You shift in your swing to face him and accidently note that he’s pretty good looking up close. Or at least, when he’s up close and shuts up.

“I’m Karkat…. Karkat Vantas,” you say before adding “so you’re from Washington?” It’s not like you cared or anything or were anxiously wondering if he was going back at the end of summer.

“Yeah I just moved here. My dad spends all day bickering with the moving people and I come here to bum around on weekends.”

“Oh, cool… I live close so I normally just come here to think over my issues.” **_YOU JUST MET HIM! DON’T TELL HIM YOU HAVE ISSUSES!!! WHY THE FUCK DID YOU SAY THAT YOU UTTER SHIT-STAINED GARABGE._**

“There must be a lot of them, you’re here every time I walk in” he sounds… concerned?

Your face heats up with the realization he had been noticing you too and you mumble a small “What a coincidence.”

“It’s cool knowing there’s some other kids that hang around here- cause I’ll just have walk out my front door to see them.” Smiling more, john raises his arm up and points across the street. “I live right over there now, just two houses down.”

“Oh” you respond weakly, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

He stares at you pensively and you turn your head away trying to ignore it.

“……”

You want to continue you talking to him, god you want to, but you find yourself a loss for words. That’s new. You feel your blood itself heating up with an earth shattering anger. You’re pissed that some random asshole could leave you tongue tied. You’re pissed that you don’t know what to say to him. But most of all, you’re pissed at him and his stupid great face for that stupid warm feeling in the pit of your stomach.

After another minute of silence, he pushes off the ground and swings back and forth. You watch him out of the corner of your eye quietly hoping his swing would break and he’d crash towards the ground and snap his neck. Or somehow falls off the distant slide and breaks a couple bones and limps home. Then comes back next week less anonnying…

The longer you sit there the more frustrated and done you feel with the entire situation. You jump up and Johns head turns towards you.

“Bye” you grumble to John before turning to walk away. He doesn’t respond.

As you left the park with curled fists you realize you said only a few sentences to the guy. After five weekends and countless hours of watching him that was all you could manage. You can’t believe it; you normally speak twice that in under a minute!!! What the fuck is wrong with you!?!?

Gritting your teeth you walk down the empty street you make a vow to next time do it right and not fuck it up again.

But a week past and next Saturday John didn’t show up- nor the next one. When the final Saturday of break past you were left alone on the swings, anxiously waiting with a misplaced feeling of betrayal. You knew to John that your brief meeting was probably nothing more than forgotten conversation made to pass a few dull minutes away, but you couldn’t help but to linger on it.

Your nullified vow spun in circles around your head because, like most missed opportunities, the universe wasn’t merciful in granting another chance. Not for a very, very long time.

**Author's Note:**

> So there it is, what did you think :? Should I continue or no?


End file.
